Across Africa are only a handful of sheltered, remote pockets of Afromontane forest; all that remains of huge tracts of ancient forest that covered large parts of the continent. On the Garden Route is one such forest. Knysna Forest, in some places so dense it borders on impenetrable, is a marvelous mix of ancient trees, both local and exotic. Tree ferns, creepers, flowers and the elusive Knysna loerie, its call heard more often than it is seen, are also part of the forest.
The grey go-away-bird, also known as grey lourie, grey loerie, or kwêvoël, is a bold and common bird of the southern Afrotropics. They have an almost uniform smoky-grey plumage with long tails and (similar to mousebirds) a wispy, back-swept crest of some 6 to 7 cm in length. The crest can be raised almost vertically when excited. The strong, decurved beak is black and the gape and tongue strikingly pink. The plumage is darkest grey on the chin and throat, and palest around the eyes and on the belly. The breast plumage is washed slightly olive like that of its near relative, the bare-faced go-away-bird.
Standing at only 30 cm tall, meerkats, also known as suricates, have captured the attention of television and film audiences around the world because of their endearing appearance and interesting social behavior. They depend on group cooperation to survive. They live in groups of 20 to 50 extended family members in large underground tunnels. These family groups, called gangs or mobs, are led by an alpha pair, with the female being dominant. Meerkats have a life span of up to ten years.
